Abstract
A substantial fraction of the freshwater available in the Neotropical forests is enclosed within the rosettes of bromeliads that form small aquatic islands within a terrestrial landscape. These aquatic oases provide shelter, water, nutrients and resting of aggregation sites for several aquatic organisms, among them crustaceans. However, in comparison with the multitude of studies on open aquatic systems, our knowledge on crustaceans inhabiting semi-terrestrial habitats and phytotelmata is limited and their presence in such environments is poorly understood. The present study was carried out in two natural protected areas of the Yucatán Peninsula aiming to understand the diversity and dispersal strategies of crustaceans living in bromeliads. Sediment and water contained in four species of bromeliads have been collected in order to understand the diversity and dispersal strategies of crustaceans living in such habitats. From a total of 238 bromeliads surveyed, 55% were colonized by crustaceans. Sixteen copepod, three ostracod and one branchiopod species were recorded during this study, however only seven species are considered as true bromeliad inhabitants. Different degrees of association between crustaceans and bromeliad species were assessed with an indicator species analysis, where significant associations were found for all crustaceans. We found significant differences between bromeliad species and reserves and their associated fauna. In order to analyze the genetic diversity of this fauna, we sequenced several individuals of each species with two genetic markers (18S rRNA and COI mtDNA). Bayesian analyses and the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent method (GMYC), delimited 7 well supported species. A comparison of the dispersal strategies used by different species, including passive dispersal, phoretic behavior and active dispersal, is included. This study stresses the need of studying meiofauna of phytotelms, which could be used as an indicator of local diversity in Neotropical forests.
Highlights
The Bromeliaceae is a family of vascular plants restricted to the New World, with the exception of a single species, Pitcairnia feliciana, distributed in West Africa [1, 2]
Sediments and water collected from 238 bromeliads belonging to five different species, i.e., Aechmaea bracteata, Aechmea sp., Tillandsia dasyliriifolia, T. fasciculata and Tillandsia sp. “mangrove bromeliad”were analyzed
Three ostracods and one branchiopod species were recorded during this study; only seven species are considered as true bromeliad inhabitants (Fig 2) because of the presence of several individuals including all life stages, i.e., males, females and larvae
Summary
The Bromeliaceae is a family of vascular plants restricted to the New World, with the exception of a single species, Pitcairnia feliciana, distributed in West Africa [1, 2]. Studies of phytotelmata fauna, including tree cavities, puddles in stumps of bamboo and similar grasses, bromeliad tanks, pitcher plants, water filled coconut husks, and Heliconia flowers are typically dominated by larval stages of insects, yet several groups of invertebrates can be found [10, 11] Among these invertebrates are freshwater crustaceans such as Ostracoda, Copepoda, and Anomopoda, which have been recognized as passive dispersers that move among habitat patches using other animals as vectors [10, 12, 13]. We hypothesize the presence of crustaceans in bromeliads can be only attributed to evolutionary process and not to a casual event as in other geographic areas
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